Luna Belle Fernandez POVLeonardo Franco is here, outside, in front of my gate.I want to believe it, but I’m scared to. If it’s a joke, I won’t be able to handle the disappointment.My heart hammers in my chest as I throw back the covers and get out of bed. I open my door and stick my head around the doorframe. The hallway is dark. No light falls from under Cassie’s door. At the end of the hallway, my father’s snoring is already coming through the door of my parents’ bedroom.Not daring to switch on a light, I walk barefoot through the house. The moonlight that falls through the big windows illuminates my way. I stop in the kitchen to check the screen on the intercom. Leonardo Franco stares right into the camera, his face a clear black-and-white picture that steals my breath and makes my palms sweat.He’s here.A mixture of excitement, surprise, and anxiety slams into me. It takes a moment to find my bearings and to somewhat calm my breathing. I don’t even want to think about my dad
I don’t hesitate. Now that the initial sensations and the shock of seeing him are over, I’m more at ease. The moment is stolen. I have to make the most of it.I flop down next to him. “How long are you staying?”“I’m flying back tomorrow night.”“Oh,” I say, unable to keep the disappointment from my voice. “It’s very far to come for just one day.”“No,” he muses, studying me. “For you, even a minute is worth coming across half the world.”The compliment warms me inside. “Did you fly to Manila again?”“To Cavite this time.”“Where are you staying?”“At the golf estate.”I look at him sideways, considering how to phrase this. “I can skip summer school tomorrow.”“No.” His voice is harsh. “You will do no such thing.”I wince, feeling embarrassed for suggesting it.He continues in a softer tone. “I have to see your father about business tomorrow. I won’t have much free time.”“He knows you’re here?” I exclaim. “In town, I mean?”“No.” He grins. “It’s better that I surprise him. I’m not hi
Luna Belle Fernandez POVThe news of last night is so exciting, I can’t wait to tell Robinson about it. It’s his mom’s turn to drive us to summer school, so I can’t say anything in the car. We arrive at my school, where the mixed classes for the eleventh-grade boys and girls are presented each summer, with only a minute to spare, which means my big news will have to wait until we get home after five.The whole day, I’m in the clouds. I can’t stop touching the heavy gold ring on my thumb. I barely managed to concentrate on the math exercises. When the tutor asks me a question, I look up from my book in a daze, lost in my daydreaming. Robin, who sits one row in front of me, looks over his shoulder with a frown. I never get a question wrong, let alone having to ask the tutor to repeat the question.“What’s up with you today?” Robin asks when we finally gather our books at five.“I’ll tell you later,” I say with a grin, swinging my backpack over my shoulder.“You need that A for math if y
Luna Belle POVHer heels click down the hallway, her steps that strange funeral march again, cautious and subdued.Before Dorothy has a chance to return and question me, I escape to the entrance and snatch my mom’s car key from the table where it lies next to her handbag. I’m too upset to think about taking her car registration papers or my license. I walk out of the door and push through the gate. The Audi is an automatic. It’s not difficult to drive. I get in and start the engine, not bothering to check the mirrors or adjust the seat.At the bottom of the street, I floor the gas. My eyes burn, but they remain dry. Good. Leonardo doesn’t deserve my tears. The line in the middle of the road blurs and doubles. I rub my eyes with the heel of my palm, trying to clear my vision. I’m driving like a maniac, way too fast, and it’s only sheer luck that I don’t get pulled over by a traffic police before I reach the golf estate.I park in front of the main entrance of the hotel and stalk inside
He’s not. He bends, picks up the ring in no hurry, and takes a Zippo lighter from his pocket. It’s the same one he used to light a joint when we first met. I watch, horrified, as he flicks the lighter and holds the ring under the flame.He’s bluffing.I look between his impassive face and the blackening surface of the ring, unable to believe he’ll go through with it.“I prefer that you wear it on your finger,” he says. “But as I said, it’s your choice.”When he kills the flame and reaches for me, I shrink back. His fingers curl around my bicep, dragging me closer. I fight his hold, clawing at his forearm, but my efforts have no effect. He brushes my hair over my shoulder, taking care not to touch my skin with the ring, and kisses a spot on my neck.A shudder runs through me.He’s going to do it—right there where he pressed his lips on my skin.“Wait,” I cry out, straining in his grasp.He blows over the spot that’s wet from his kiss, making my skin contract. “It’ll hurt, but I’ll put
Luna Belle Fernandez POVThe house is strangely quiet. The clang when I drop my mom’s car key on the table in the entrance sounds unnaturally loud. A smell of apple pie wafts from the kitchen, but the delicious aroma of home baking doesn’t warm me inside and welcome me like it usually does.Something changed. I don’t feel at home in the house any longer. Leonardo Franco destroyed my haven with his despicable betrayal. I’m like a stranger in the place I grew up in. The walls close in on me, but I don’t feel safe outside either. Adonis’s words repeat in my head, that someone will always be watching me. That he’ll always come back for me. But I don’t want to think about him. I can’t. Not now. I have to push those disturbing thoughts aside and do what has to be done.Taking my phone from my bag that still lies on the floor next to the door, I send a text message to Robinson to tell him I won’t be over tonight, making up a feeble excuse of being tired.Cassie exits from the kitchen as I sh
Luna Belle POVMy shoulders sag as I walk to the bathroom and wash my face. My father lost shares in his business, and it’s my fault. Because of me, he had to give a part of his hard-earned company to the Franco family. If Leonardo used the bribing to blackmail my father into signing over a part of his business, then Leonardo is condoning the bribing too.It’s a bitter pill to swallow. A part of me wishes I never learned the truth. I don’t like to think this house and everything else was bought with dishonest means. Dad has never involved us in his business. I’ve never understood much about it because he’s gone to such great pains to keep his private and professional lives apart.I’ve always put him on a pedestal. He’s always been my hero, and today makes a dent in the image I upheld for so long, proving that even my strong, successful, and invincible dad is only human. That he has faults. I suppose he feels the same about me, realizing that his little girl isn’t so perfect or obedien
Leonardo Franco POVOur house is a stone structure that stands on a cliff. The wall of rock dives straight into the sea. To the left, a small bay with a strip of sand provides enough protection to tie a boat. Beyond the bay, terraced gardens lead up the hilly side to the house. On the east side, an Olympic-sized pool overlooks the sea. The garden is planted with rosemary, thyme, lavender, and narra trees. A vineyard stretches down the hill at the back. It’s a small vineyard that produces a few bottles of mediocre quality wine a year, but it was never meant to be an industrious enterprise. It’s my father’s hobby. It was always his dream to own a vineyard.I throw the rope of the yacht to one of our men who waits on the jetty. He greets me with a nod. Once the yacht is secured, he goes on board to close everything and pull the covers over the fittings. I look at the gray sky, taking in the thick bank of clouds as I climb the stone steps that cut through the garden to the front of the ho